In a chaotic match, Atalanta Bergamo was very strong with their high and midfield press which nullified Sassuolo for most parts of the match, as the hosts could not find alternatives to a well-oiled, machine-like Atalanta.Tactical analysis by Chris Baker.
Sassuolo’s manager Roberto De Zerbi made a string of changes to his Sassuolo side following the 3-1 defeat against Roma. Sassuolo also managed ust one win in their previous five encounters. There were three changes to his backline with Rogério, Giangiacomo Magnani and Pol Lirola all coming in. As well as the backline, there were also three changes in midfield with Stefano Sensi, Manuel Locatelli and Alfred Duncan forming the three-chain. In attack, just Domenico Berardi kept his place with Alessandro Matri playing a central role and Federico Di Francesco on the left.

European hopefuls Atalanta Bergamo were excellent in their previous encounter against Juventus, and as expected deployed a 3-4-1-2 formation, with three changes being made. José Palomino and Rafael Tolói replaced Berat Djimsiti and Andrea Masiello in defense with Musa Barrow getting the nod ahead of Josip Iličić in the attack.

Sassuolo's 4-3-3 base formation against Atalanta’s 3-4-1-2

Atalanta’s excellent pressing
A key feature of Sassuolo’s ball circulation is enabling the ball-holder to have open passing lanes in close proximity of the ball. Therefore, it is crucial to limit their ability to form triangles around the ball, which Atalanta achieved through their excellent pressing game.

They did so by pressing very aggressively against Sassuolo, using heavy man-marking when Sassuolo . . .

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Chris Baker (22) is a Business Coordinator. Interested in, and writes about, tactics. Coaches twice a week and aspires to work full time in football. Tries to follow most of the top teams across Europe, especially Arsenal and Barcelona. When he is not coaching or watching football, he is probably reading… about football.
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